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Alice Evans: Social media was 'salvation' amid Ioan Gruffudd split, but lawyers said not to tweet

Watch: Alice Evans accuses Ioan Gruffudd of three-year affair

Alice Evans has described social media as her "salvation" during the breakdown of her marriage with Liar actor Ioan Gruffudd, but said lawyers told her to stop "airing my laundry in public".

Writing in the Daily Mail, Evans revealed she was "heartbroken" earlier this week when she saw a picture on her husband's Instagram picture with his new girlfriend — an extra on his Australian TV show Harrow.

Evans has spoken openly on social media about her split with the Fantastic Four star, including accusing him of ghosting her after the break-up.

Read more: Alice Evans says she's experiencing "excruciating pain" after split

She said: "People may accuse me of washing my dirty linen in public but the sad truth is that the internet has been my friend and salvation through these awful months.

"But, it can be torture, too. And there was no greater torture for me than the day I saw him with his new girlfriend on his Instagram feed earlier this week."

Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd have two daughters together from their 13-year marriage. (David Livingston/Getty Images)
Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd have two daughters together from their 13-year marriage. (David Livingston/Getty Images)

Evans tweeted in January that Gruffudd was leaving her and their two daughters, in a post that was subsequently deleted — by Gruffudd, Evans has claimed.

He filed for divorce in March, and Evans has said she found out about this "on a gossip website", subsequently returning to social media as it helped her to "get perspective".

Read more: Gruffudd and Evans issue joint statement after split

She added: "Suddenly, I was on Zoom meetings with five or six legal eagles fearing I might lose custody of my children. The advice was clear. I had to keep quiet. Stop airing my laundry in public.

"It might seem odd, but the more I was pushed, prodded, told to get in line, the more the lawyers told me not to talk, the more I felt like doing it."

Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans first met on the set of sequel movie '102 Dalmatians'. (Sean Dempsey/PA Images via Getty Images)
Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans first met on the set of sequel movie '102 Dalmatians'. (Sean Dempsey/PA Images via Getty Images)

Evans and Gruffudd met when they both appeared in the 2000 Disney sequel 102 Dalmatians and married in 2007.

Their daughters, Ella and Elsie, were born in 2009 and 2013 respectively.

Read more: How Disney stylists reimagined Cruella De Vil

Evans said she was called "unfeminine" for talking about her split on social media, with critics questioning where her "stiff upper lip" was as a British person.

"I felt I was being treated badly by the man I had married and I needed somebody — heck, everybody! — to know," she said.

Alice Evans has said she found out Ioan Gruffudd had filed for divorce when she read about it online. (JB Lacroix/WireImage)
Alice Evans has said she found out Ioan Gruffudd had filed for divorce when she read about it online. (JB Lacroix/WireImage)

Evans said she has been contacted by other women to discuss their own experiences since she went public, saying she "might have truly lost my mind" without the ability to talk about her feelings.

She stepped back from her own acting career after becoming a mum, only taking on a handful of roles since her children were born.

Evans' most recent acting credit was a three-episode run in Vampire Diaries spin-off series The Originals in 2014 and 2015, with 2013 psychological thriller Liars All her last movie role.

Yahoo Entertainment UK has contacted representatives for Ioan Gruffudd.

Watch: Alice Evans defends decision to speak publicly about marriage split